


i've waited so long...

by PenelopeJadewing



Series: fictober 2018 [18]
Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Blood, Character Death, Gen, Uchiha Massacre, Villain Uchiha Itachi, and Sasuke's undying hatred, the birth of Izanami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 22:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenelopeJadewing/pseuds/PenelopeJadewing
Summary: It has come. The night of reckoning. A night of weeping, gnashing, bleeding, death. Sasuke has no idea what he's about to walk into, and it will shape the remainder of his life from this day forward. Nothing will ever be the same...The night Uchiha Itachi became a Villain.





	i've waited so long...

**Author's Note:**

> THE FINAL FICTOBER PROMPT! :U I finished! Missed a few days in the middle but OH WELL. Now I can actually update things at a godly pace like a normal person again //HIT
> 
> It'll be back to uploading every Saturday again now, and I'll probably just be cycling through this AU, Sick Boy, and ATMC. A bit more variety from me. ; w ;
> 
> Thanks to everybody who's been keeping up and giving kudos! I LOVE YOU ALL! <3 Happy Halloween!
> 
> \- P.J.

The sinking sunlight drives harried footsteps faster as young Uchiha Sasuke sprints his way down city street after city street amidst deepening shadows. The hour’s getting later and later and he knows, he just knows he’ll get an earful from both Itachi and his father for his tardiness. He’ll have the likes of Bakugou Katsuki to blame, of course, which makes him smile a little, but still. If he dreams of being a Pro Hero who’s caliber is equal to the other men in his family, he has to wise up, be more responsible. He should be able to fight villains and still make his appointments.

It’s Friday, and ever since the U.A. Sports Festival this year, ever since Itachi started interning at their father’s agency, Sasuke’s been allowed to tag along as Itachi finishes his work. Usually it’s just boring paperwork, but Sasuke really does try his best to pay attention. One day, he’ll have to do what Itachi’s doing. Submit reports, sign statements, file things where they belong, fill out forms. Even sweep floors and fetch coffee; Sasuke found Itachi doing that once. Then, once Itachi’s finished, Father always sends them home ahead of him for dinner.

Sasuke always gets to hear about everything Itachi’s learned on those walks home. His brother… he’s so smart. He more than keeps up with his fellow freshmen at U.A. despite being two years younger, and Sasuke’s so proud sometimes, he feels like he might explode. He knows he cheered the loudest when Itachi cleared Round One, the Chase Race, ensnaring twenty-two students in Dreamstate at once. And then Round Two, the Escape Rooms, when Itachi aided his team by using his Quirk to make his eyes a light source until they could find the flashlights, on top of putting three other unfortunate students to sleep then they had the misfortune of crossing Itachi’s path in the labrynth.

And Sasuke had cheered even louder when Itachi collapsed from Quirk exhaustion in the first match-up in the battle royale, the moment he activated his Quirk to try and trap his older, larger opponent. Even though he lost, Sasuke would always see his brother as the victor.

In Sasuke’s mind, nothing can defeat his brother. No way, no how. He’s perfect.

The longer Sasuke takes to traverse the darkening streets, the more the sun disappears behind the cityscape, until everything is deep blue with twilight and streetlamps and neon signs are doing more to light his way than the remaining daylight. It’s winter; the sun goes down sooner. He really shouldn’t have gotten into trouble at school or else he never would have taken so long…

At long last, he comes to the familiar brick face of his father’s agency building. Without wasting any more time, he scampers up the cement steps and pushes through into the lobby.

Darkness greets him. That’s the first thing he notices and it makes him halt in his tracks. The lights… they should be on. Why are they off? They’re not closed or anything, are they? Why would they be closed so early… and leave the front door unlocked?

No, they can’t be closed. There’s people still here. Migiwa-san’s still behind the front desk. Though… he’s just staring, right at Sasuke, his wide blue eyes reflecting the lamplight that streams through the glass doors at Sasuke’s back. It’s unnerving; Sasuke wonders if something’s wrong.

“Uh… hello?” Sasuke calls, stepping away from the doors to slowly cross the grey tile to the desk. As his eyes adjust to the darkness, he begins to notice more people… lying strewn across the floor. Not moving. The hairs on his arms, his neck all stand on end and he swallows a lump of fear.

_What’s going on here?_

“Migiwa-san?” He shuffles close to the tall desk and peers over it to find the sidekick unblinking, still fixated on the door. A small red light from one of the computer screens flashes slowly across his face. A small breath leaves his slightly-parted mouth. A painting of Uchiha Fugaku in his Reaper form looms just behind him, skeletal face glaring down over the scene with hollow eye sockets swathed in purple flames.

Sasuke shivers, taking a step back from the desk. What’s… this doesn’t make any sense… what’s wrong with Migiwa-san? What about all these other people? He knows them, he realizes, recognizes most of them vaguely as people who work here… they seem to be breathing, but they won’t move.

Something… something horrible happened here.

“Dad…” he murmurs, knowing then that if anyone will know what’s happening, or if anyone is truly in danger, it’s Father. Sasuke drops his backpack and sprints for the elevator.

Though he passes more unconscious people on the way, Sasuke doesn’t stop. The elevator doesn’t come when called, so he searches for the stairs, and once he’s discovered them, he lunges up them two at a time—which only lasts for two flights before he’s winded and huffing. But there seems to be another prone body around every corner, and the mounting adrenaline in his veins and the pulse of his quickening blood keep his speed up.

_I don’t understand…_

He doesn’t dare to stop by any of the bodies. He’s afraid of what he might find, afraid that some of them might be  _too still_.

He starts to smell it on the third floor. Something strong, pungent… metallic. Smoke after firecrackers and something more, something burnt and gross… He can’t figure out what it is, isn’t sure he wants to, but he doesn’t get a choice. He staggers around yet another landing and trips over a pair of legs in his hurry.

When he scrambles up again, he spots the smear of blood on the wall, where the body must have hit and slid down. More of it, more blood has soaked the man’s button-up, turned the light blue a dark, horrible red.

Sasuke screams.

And because he has no idea what to do, he keeps running. Dead, so they are dead, maybe not all of them but some, and some is too much. Too much, what’s going on… Who did this? Who could’ve done this!? Are they still here? Is he gonna die? Where is Father? Where is Itachi? He needs to find Itachi… Itachi will know what to do.

There are more bodies, dead ones, further up. At least five… Sasuke glimpses long stretches of hallway on the other floors, but he doesn’t dare investigate. Father’s office is on the top floor, the sixth floor, he needs to go there. He needs to see Father, needs to bury his face in his arm, breathe his smell, then he’ll be okay. Father will take care of everything. Father and Itachi… they’re the strongest people Sasuke knows, they’ll know what to do.

By the time he reaches the top floor, his lungs are hot, wheezing, his throat is dry, feels like something’s stabbing it. He leans on the wall, hand sliding across smooth, cold, white, but he doesn’t stop. He can’t. The smell, the dark, the bodies, they drive him forward. He falls into the office door, which swings open easily under his weight.

Someone’s in here.

It’s not Father either. Father’s tall, broad. Strong. This person’s small, thin, dark. So dark, the lights coming in from the bay windows make it hard to see anything more than this person’s silhouette—

And the body at their feet. The pool of blood glints wickedly.

Sasuke freezes.

The person turns, slowly, too slowly,  _please, I don’t wanna die…_  Eyes hooded in familiar thick lashes greet him from under ebony bangs.

“Nii-san,” comes Sasuke’s sigh of pure relief. He staggers forward, reaching for his brother. “W-What… I-I saw… tth-there’s dead people, Itachi, something bad happened… what happened? I don’t understand…”

Itachi raises a gun. A gun. Points it between Sasuke’s eyes.

The firecracker smell…

Sasuke halts again. His body is shaking, shaking so hard. He can’t make it stop… He stares down the gun’s muzzle and his heartbeat thumps in his ears, making it hard to think, to breathe.

“B-But… n-nii-san… I-I don’t…” Sasuke’s throat begins to close, tight, his eyes burn, _so scared, what’s happening…_

“My foolish little brother…”

_He sounds so… cold._

“N-Nii-san…?”

“I’ve waited so long for this.”

No.

No.

_No._

It… can’t be. He couldn’t have… Itachi is…

He’s good. He’s kind. He’s… his big brother, he’s… _so strong…_

“I-I don’t understand…” The words fall from Sasuke’s trembling lips, with the beginnings of a sob he can’t hold back. How is he… What is he supposed to do?

Itach’s eyes glow blood red. Sasuke sucks in a breath, closes his eyes, but images flood his brain, gunfire and spatters of hot lifeblood across white walls, terrified faces in their moment of death, screams… so much screaming…

And somewhere between the nightmare’s splintered fragments of torture and fear, Sasuke sees his father, his father’s smile, his parents glowing with pride and telling every available soul who listens how amazing their son is, how amazing Itachi is, and they love him so much, Sasuke loves him so much…

But all he can see is Itachi’s glowing eyes looming in a red sky, over a field of corpses.

The dream breaks. Sasuke can’t breathe, his knees buckle, he falls and he can’t catch himself. His cheek presses into the cool tile floor—he can smell their father’s blood.

“W-Why… I-Itachi…” he forces the words off his lead tongue, makes his numb lips speak despite the frazzled state of his mind. Coherent thought is… difficult. He can’t… can’t think… only ask… It’s all he can come up with.

“Why?” There’s Itachi’s voice again, cold, oozing, no emotion at all… Nothing like him, it’s so,  _so wrong, this isn’t him, it can’t be…_

“To test my strength.”

The words bounce through the void between Sasuke’s ears, and he can scarcely pull his thoughts together to properly comprehend them, but he has to. He  _has_  to. He needs to… understand. He needs to know why…

“Your… strength?”

“That’s right. And… to test you.” While Itachi speaks, Sasuke sees blue and red lights begin to flash against the walls, glowing up from the windows… “You… who will one day be my nemesis. I think it’s rather poetic.”

_This can’t be happening._

_This isn’t him._

“I’ve killed our father, the Number Three Hero. I’ve demonstrated my power… and now you’ll hate me. You’ll need that hate. Let it fester… Let it strive to make you stronger and one day… come and find me. Pit your rage against mine… and we shall see who will prevail.”

“Th-This… isn’t you, n-nii-san, I-I… I know it.” Slowly, too slowly, dizzily, Sasuke drags himself to his knees, looks up to his brother’s face. Maybe he’ll look just like he used to… maybe he’ll smile.

Those eyes are narrow, cold. Dead. The corner of Itachi’s mouth tilts up in a cruel, cruel grin. “So naive… Can’t you see? It was all an act. Just as it was an act for Father. I needed both of you to trust me.”

“T-Trust…”

“I’m curious, you see.” Itachi leans back on his heels, smiling at the ceiling. No, this isn’t the smile Sasuke wanted, it’s twisted and toothy and all wrong,  _so wrong_. “Your Quirk is… special. Understated, even. The Pros will try sending raw strength to catch me and I’ll turn them all into babbling fools. But you… you have the unique potential to become an even match for me. I’m used to everything coming so easily… it would be nice to have an actual battle someday.”

The smile vanishes as quickly as it came and then that soulless stare is back on Sasuke and it makes him flinch.

“Let your hate for me simmer,” Itachi says, lowering the pistol to his side. “Then come for me only when you’re ready to fight for your life. Make no mistake… I will kill you. But at least it may be a decent challenge for me. That’s enough of a reason to let you live. Just think about it—you’ll be the Hero… and I’ll be the Villain. It’ll be just like all the stories.”

_Hero… Villain…? He wants… to kill me?_

Itachi takes a step. A single step, towards him, and Sasuke flinches, turns away, closes his eyes, ready for the pistol to fly back up, not ready to die, no… but he’s crazy, Itachi’s really crazy, a Villain, he killed Father, Father’s right there, dead, dead,  _dead…_

Itachi chuckles, stepping closer still. Walking, casually, pistol gleaming at his side. “Don’t be afraid, Sasuke. You’re not worth killing… yet. You get to live for now. As I said… hate me. Cling to your wretched life and cultivate your strength so that one day, I can come back… and you can actually look me in the eye without fear.”

A finger hooks under Sasuke’s chin and jerks his face up. His eyes snap open, meet a bloody crimson gaze,  _Itachi, please…_

“For now, little brother,” his elder brother says, almost soothingly, “sleep.”

And Sasuke has no choice. He closes his eyes and dreams of Itachi’s crooked smile and tears of blood.


End file.
